Richland Schoolhouse to move to Odebolt

Pictured above are members of the project steering committee. 
From left: Madeline Meyer, Sandy Host, Greg Neville, Greg Raasch, Karry and Deb Reinhart and Barb Bloom.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE MOVE!!

The Richland #1 Schoolhouse may finally be on the move again!  The building, now located at the Curt and Carol Raasch building site, is scheduled to come to its designated location on 2nd Street of Odebolt sometime in the next couple of weeks.  A sign has been marking the spot since Odebolt’s Creek Days celebration this past June.  The photo here shows some of the Steering Committee members looking at the flagged spot in July, with a map of the location. 

The move will be the building’s second since retiring as a school house and 4-H meeting place.  It originally was located at the corner of 290th Street and Gard Avenue, four miles north and east of Odebolt.  In 1954, it was purchased and moved by Harold Boney to the farm location previously mentioned, and used for livestock housing.  Recently, it has been standing empty and ready, in anticipation of its new life as a Rural School and Iowa History Museum.  The moving company is DNC Movers of Hornick, Iowa.  We anticipate a lot of community interest, and will be keeping the radio, TV, and print media advised as to the actual move day. 

Once the building is in place, work will begin on giving it a facelift and making it ready for the winter elements.  It is anticipated some siding will have to be replaced, the roof replaced and new windows and doors installed, for starters.  Electrification will be done by The Electric Company.  One note of interest may be that the process has begun to see if the Richland #1 building would qualify to be on the National Registry of Historical Buildings.  Odebolt is fortunate to have the actual 1883 building, with many of its features intact, and many original artifacts ready to go into place once it is restored.

Funding for this project has been provided by the Sac County Endowment Foundation Grant, the Gilbert and Barbara Renze Foundation Grant, and community donations.


(The Rural Legacy Project is also looking for someone to document news articles - CLICK HERE for information.)